This invention relates to electromagnetic relays of the type operated by a coil, and it relates, more particularly, to relays wherein the axis of the coil parallels the plane of support and has a core extending through it. In this type of relay, a yoke is usually positioned adjacent to a winding and parallel to the axis of the coil wherein an armature and system of contacts is disposed at one end of the coil.
A typical relay of this general configuration and kind is the subject of a prior German patent application, No. P 35 38 613.4. Specifically, this type design is appropriate for relays that, although small, feature a high-voltage current contact. The overall width of the relay is occupied by the coil and its adjacent yoke, and to keep it from exceeding a prescribed size limit, the actual contact system is positioned in front of both the coil and the armature.
This relay configuration occasions a problem. The contact spring must, on the one hand, be capable of conducting a powerful current and must accordingly have an adequate cross-section. In other words, it must be fairly wide. Nevertheless, its spring rate, on the other hand, must be as low as possible to maintain the force to be exerted by the armature and, hence, the breaking capacity of the relay itself as low as possible. The result is that the contact spring must be as long as possible to keep the spring rate low. The contact spring in the relay disclosed in the foregoing cited prior application is accordingly inserted in a channel created by the yoke in such a way that one section of the spring parallels the axis of the coil. The drawback is that the empty space, or air gap, required to accomodate the motion also adds to the overall width of the relay.